“Presenting financials and other numbers so people will understand you.” That’s the subtitle of “Painting with Numbers,” a book by my client, Randy Bolten, that’s just out from Wiley. It’s getting enthusiastic reviews from sources as diverse as academics, ban… Read full post »

Susie Brown wrote this guest post:

There I was, in the middle of writing a very important article, and the craziest thing happened. My laptop’s keyboard, which I had always been so trusting of, failed me. At first, the “backspace “ button just started… Read full post »

Unless you know why you want to write a book, you are unlikely to produce one. If you know why, you have a good chance of knowing who your readers will be. And if you know that, you can figure out how to reach them.

There are lots of reasons to… Read full post »

Click on the picture for the whole story….

Humans love stories. “Once upon a time…” immediately engages us.

I don’t know why; I’m not sure anyone does. But if you just list facts or events, you will lose your audience quickly. If you tell a story, in which one thing leads to another,

reveals a conflict, a… Read full post »

I’ll start from the conclusion. Here’s why you should ONLY self-publish, and not seek a publisher:

• 

  You get to market MUCH more quickly by self-publishing (days or weeks versus a year or more)

• You keep your intellectual property; you can reprint, translate, sell movie
… Read full post »

This week, Jews all over the world celebrate Purim, the feast commemorating the rescue of our people from genocide at the hand of the wicked Haman, in the kingdom of Shushan. (Get the full scoop in the Book of Esther, in any Jewish or Christian bible.)… Read full post »

Your marketing is killing your business.

Let me rephrase: Unless your marketing is bringing you more business than you can handle, it’s pulling you down the drain. There is no middle ground in marketing.

So which is it? If you are like 90+% of authors and solopreneurs, you don’t have all… Read full post »

Nobody outside of Amazon knows how many Kindles have been sold, but the number is in the double-digit millions. Add to that the number of Kindle apps, free for iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, and Android; the number of Barnes and Noble Nooks; the number of other electronic book readers; and without… Read full post »

Sell books? That’s far from the mind of many authors.

A panel of writers at a meeting I attended last night candidly shared their experiences in terms of making money with books.  Most of the authors have put in years and have spent, not including their time, more than they have… Read full post »

There are more books being published now than ever before. UNESCO (via Wikipedia) says:

1. United States (2009) 288,355 (“new titles and editions”) ^[3]
2. United Kingdom (2005) 206,000 ^[2]
3. China (2007) 136,226 ^[4]
4. Russian Federation (2008) 123,336 ^[5]
5. %IMAGE
… Read full post »

Seth Godin is amazing, and you should follow his Domino Project. In this brief article, he summarizes a key point about publishing books that is overlooked by most authors and many publishers. Go there and read the whole thing.

The single biggest change in book publishing is this:

The industry… Read full post »

Could it be because you are simply not showing up? I think it was Woody Allen who said, “80% of success is in showing up.” Whether concretely or metaphorically, your presence is required in your writing.

Other people can research and record the same facts. Other people might even s… Read full post »

Unglue.it is not even in beta yet, but it is raising a lot of eyebrows: Can you use a pledge campaign to raise money to induce a copyright owner to put their publication into the public domain? The owner gives up future royalties in exchange for a one-time payment, raised from a… Read full post »

“Writer’s block” refers to a “stuck” state, in which the writer just can’t think of anything to write. Is it real? Is it a mental affliction requiring professional treatment? Depends who you ask.

If you think you are experiencing writer’s block, you ar… Read full post »

I think it was E. M. Forster who said, “‘The king died; the queen died’ is story. ‘The king died; the queen died of grief” is plot.” (Thanks, daughter Shir.) Events (real or imagined) recounted in chronological order are story; linking them in cause-and-effect rela… Read full post »

For a couple of years my blog here has toddled along with a slowly growing audience, until recently averaging abut 50 visits per day. Suddenly, last week, I had 5,000, then 12,000 visits.

They were all coming from StumbleUpon. No spam, just real visitors. Needless to say, I was thrilled!

But… Read full post »

Whether it’s a blog post, an article, or a book you’re writing, your challenge is get the reader’s attention and hold it until you’ve delivered your message. It’s not always easy, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Just:

• Know your audience
• Understand their pain
… Read full post »

I’ll say it again: Most people think that writing a book is incredibly difficult, time-consuming, and of questionable value. But actually, if you just follow my program, it can be doable (if not easy), quick, and a really good use of your time. I’ll save the value part for another blog… Read full post »

Your book’s title is important to its impact. If the title is not a grabber, the prospective reader will not open the book.

So–how to name your book? As I’ve mentioned, a lot of the advice that applies to copy writing applies to book titles. Here are 7 characteristics of a… Read full post »

Go to Amazon.com and click on the “Bestsellers” tab at the top of the Amazon.com home page. Seek out your category; they are listed on the left. Note books that are in your topic area; for each one that strikes your interest, make a note of its title and its rank.

Collect… Read full post »

I’m giving away my $97 course as part of Mark Hendricks’ “12 Days of Xmas†give-away. There’s a ton of high-quality free stuff, with more every day–and a group that helps homeless people gets all the money (which comes from the people who are donating their products). Check it out: http:… Read full post »

The November workshop went well, so I’m doing it again: I have heard from all too many colleagues how stressed they are due to the economy. So I’m doing something about it: I’m offering a one-day workshop that teaches you how to write and publish your book — quickly and inexpe… Read full post »

Your audience–the people you want to reach with your book–has a question. Yes, I know they have more than one. But for many of them, there is one big question they share. It occupies them. It represents a pain, a hole in their lives, that is demanding comfort, that must have… Read full post »

It’s not really a dichotomy; you can, and probably should, have both. Thanks to print-on-demand machinery, you can get your book out there for very little money (consider Lulu.com if you can handle terrible customer support; otherwise my favorite is Booklocker.com). And you can simultaneously p… Read full post »